July 10, 2020

Title: TEST GROUP

Constructor: Gail Grabowski

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

DRIVE APART (17A: Cause a rift between)

PILOT LIGHT (54A: Gas stove flame)

CASE IN POINT (10D: "Here's a perfect example...")

RUN AN ERRAND (24D: Get groceries, for example)

Bonus theme answers:

PATTERNS (9D: Guides for dressmakers)

GROUP PIC (36D: Team photo, e.g.)

Theme synopsis: The first word of the first four theme answers I've listed can be placed after the word TEST to form new phrases: TEST DRIVE, TEST PILOT, TEST CASE, TEST RUN. I've labeled PATTERNS as "bonus" theme, because while PATTERNS is a single word rather than a phrase, TEST PATTERNS is a common phrase. If you take the first word of GROUP PIC and place it after the word TEST, the result is the title of the puzzle - TEST GROUP.

Things I learned:

• RENE (24A: TV correspondent Marsh) RENE Marsh is CNN's aviation and government regulation correspondent.
• LARA (2D: Voice actress ___ Jill Miller) LARA Jill Miller has done voice work for a number of animated TV series including Doc McStuffins on the Disney Channel and The Loud House on Nickelodeon. She has also done voice performances for a number of video games. LARA Jill Miller is also known for playing the role of Sam on the 1980s sitcom Gimme a Break! It is perhaps less well known that LARA Jill Miller has a J.D. degree from Fordham University School of Law. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• TOE TAP (22A: Ab strengthener) I initially wanted SIT UPS here. When I discovered that the answer was instead TOE TAP, it made me chuckle. TOE TAP is the name of an exercise that will strengthen your abs, but the TOE TAP I'm more inclined to do keeps time to the music and probably doesn't do much for my abs!
• FLINT (32A: Mari Copeny's city) This is a CASE IN POINT where I knew the person's story but did not recognize their name. I am glad to relearn Mari Copeny's name. In 2016, Mari Copeny wrote a letter to President Obama in order to draw attention to the Flint Water Crisis in her hometown. She was eight years old at the time. The letter Mari Copeny wrote led to President Obama visiting FLINT which led to a nationwide awareness of the city's critical situation. 
• CODE (61A: Girls Who ___) Girls Who CODE is a nonprofit organization founded to support and increase the number of women in computer science.
• ETSY (52D: Website that becomes a name if you add a B at the beginning) I am rarely able to figure out clues that describe names in this manner. Usually I simply skip them and wait for some assistance from crossing answers. This one, however, was immediately apparent to me and I celebrate that small victory!

Geography review:

• PALO (34A: ___ Alto, California) PALO Alto means "tall stick" in Spanish. PALO Alto, California is named after a specific coastal redwood tree called El PALO Alto. PALO Alto is in the San Francisco Bay area.
• ASIA (53A: Continent with 11 time zones) I'm waiting for the day when ASIA is clued as "Continent most frequently appearing in crossword puzzles."

A straightforward theme type, though I was confused as to whether PATTERNS and GROUP PIC were meant to be a part of the theme. I almost missed them, in fact. They're nice additions to the theme set, however they were meant. Sometimes as I am solving a puzzle, answers will link themselves together in my brain, even though they have not been cross-referenced by the constructor. For example, today I thought the BLARE of the music might be what caused one to BLURT out, "WHAT?" It was an unintended mini-theme that amused this TEST GROUP of one.